The 8.13m-diameter Herrenknecht TBM completed an 850km journey from Germany across the North Sea, via Mammoet’s European Headquarters in Schiedam, the Netherlands.
“Minimising disturbance at every step, that’s been the aim of this project,” explains Matthew Gent, Managing Director for Mammoet in the UK. “Using the River Thames to bring in the machinery was the most efficient solution. The Mammoet engineering team worked closely with the manufacturers, Herrenknecht, and Tideway’s project managers on site to ensure that the machine was delivered on time with the minimum impact on the local area.”
“We provided the flat top barge for marine transport and on-shore self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT). Our 1,200 and 750-tonne crane systems will also be used to reassemble the machinery on-site ready for tunnelling to commence.”
The Thames Tideway project will see the construction of a 7m-diameter, 25km-long tunnel beneath the River Thames to act as an overflow for London’s over-capacity Victorian sewer network. At the western end, geology is London Clay, then moving eastwards it changes to mixed sands and gravel, before reaching Thanet Sands and Lambeth beds, before finally entering the chalk at the eastern extremes.
Tunnelling begins this year.
